


Because the picture went viral

by escailyy



Category: Bridgerton (TV), Bridgerton Series - Julia Quinn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:41:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28559994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/escailyy/pseuds/escailyy
Summary: Eloise Bridgerton has made a mess of things many times in her life. This is the first time a drunken instagram post goes viral so fast, it would be okay if only it didn't affect this cute stranger's life so badly. Nevermind that. She now needs to hide out from her family and since she's already in Phillip's house anyway. Might as well stay and make his life a little more interesting.
Relationships: Eloise Bridgerton/Phillip Crane
Comments: 3
Kudos: 115





	Because the picture went viral

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a picture, I wrote a fic. That's how it happened. I sincerely hc Eloise as pan ok.

Eloise as the self appointed most level headed one of her siblings never expected to be waking up in a stranger's bed after what was possibly the best wedding afterparty in the history of Bridgerton weddings. One had to give it to Colin, moving the afterparty from the venue to a club downtown had to be his greatest idea ever. Phillip was so much fun when he lost the controlled politeness that kept him on leash and if Eloise was pressed to admit, Mr shy botanist was one hell of a dancer, you know, for a stranger.

Okay technically Phillip Crane wasn't a stranger, she'd been exchanging emails with him since his separation (and later divorce) from Marina two years ago because Penelope thought someone should keep an eye on him (to hear Penelope talk about his kindness and decency, you would think Phillip had saved her life or something). And yeah technically Penelope and Colin's wedding was the first time they met face to face and he could be considered a stranger...

But last night drunk Eloise hadn't cared. Phillip was a total gentleman and since she'd been quite insistent on going home with him and not giving up her address. Here she was. In Phillip's house, because of course he had a house and a dog...and something she was forgetting

  
"Is that... chewing gum?" Eloise wondered watching the sticky blob smeared in the middle of her discarded bridesmaid dress, oddly resembling something out of Gregory's arsenal of pranks "Well at least I had a good shift underneath" she muttered to herself, happy that the shift of her dress doubled as pijamas 

"Good, you're awake" Phillip said coming in the guest room with a tray of something that made her stomach growl "I wasn't sure how long you would be out, last night you were a little bit...out of it" and he really didn't want to tell her that she was prone to death threats when she was drunk "Are you okay? Do you feel like vomiting again?" He was being uncommonly kind, he was either an angel..or obviously hiding something 

But Eloise was still distracted by her bridesmaid dress, something was familiar about the chewing gum patern "Oh my gosh you have kids!" That's the thing she kept forgetting, Kids! Phillip was Marina's ex, the same Marina, cousin of Penelope who'd been pregnant with twins which was why Penelope's mother forced her to get married ...to Philip "Marina's kids! They're your kids" 

"You know I expected you to have actually met them before the outrage set in?" Phillip chuckled "but yeah, Oliver and Amanda" and then as if to punctuate his admition a loud crash and a womanly scream was heard in the distance 

"A rat! A rat! There's a rat in my uniform" the woman screamed and the kids laughed "THIS IS IT YOU BLODDY HELLIONS, I QUIT! Good luck to mr Crane raising you demons into adulthood!" There were about three door slams heard before the children cheered

Eloise let out a very unladylike snort that evolved into a full blown laugh "I see why you never mentioned them in your emails" and she knew she was offending Phillip but right now, this was the most hilarious thing that ever happened in her whole week (and that included watching Colin's tongue tied proposal to Penelope twice) 

Phillip looked from Eloise to the door and from the door to Eloise "I'm sorry...I should.. probably get that" he muttered 

"You should" Eloise replied with another giggle 

"This isn't funny"

"Believe me, it is" at least when you were a Bridgerton "makes me miss plotting with Colin and Benedict" Speaking of Benedict "I'm sorry but, where is my phone? I just remembered my family doesn't actually know where you live...they might be worried" 

Phillip nodded and handed her the device that had been charging in the nightstand "the battery died on you last night, so I took the liberty of putting it to charge" and after hearing another crash from the nearby room Phillip went white "I'm sorry Eloise, I'll be right back"

Eloise thought his blush was cute, you know for the repressed soccer dad he obviously was. But again her thoughts were derailed by the hundred missed calls from all members of her family.

Anthony had sent her a flurry of angry texts containing various forms of "WTF Eloise! where are you!" And "take that photo down dear sister, sent from hell" but then again when was Anthony ever in a normal mood  
Benedict and Daphne sent equally concerned texts but Benedict was more teasing and Daphne's more exasperated than angry. Francesca, bless her soul only called a few times and her texts were full of support for "whatever she was doing" same with Hyacinth although her younger sister demanded more details and Gregory made an attempt to sound as angry as Anthony but it just didn't work. Colin and Penelope were missing from the list but she assumed it was because just like her, Penelope's phone was on mute at the wedding reception and Colin was too busy getting busy with Penelope to remember her.

The point was that all her family was talking about a supposed picture Eloise had posted which apparently had gone viral.

"Picture? I didn't post any picture" Eloise muttered to herself...

But her Instagram account notifications didn't lie. She had in fact, posted a picture.

 **Eloise_B_nice** :  
 _Followers! This is Phillip, my soulmate, I just kissed him and threatened to make him eat his tux if he didn't dance with me! This dude knows how to shoot darts guys! better than me!. He beat me at pool too, I think I'm in love, Hey @AnthonyBridgerton I'm going marry this mancake, hope you approve._  
 _ **2000 people have liked this post 360 have left a comment**_

"Oh no!" Eloise groaned, of all the stupid, drunk posts she'd ever made, this one was by far the worst "My brothers are going to kill me" Eloise panicked "And Phillip!"

Much like Colin's international food instagram, Eloise public instagram usually got lots of traffic, between her fledging political journalist career and human rights activism, her pictures won two or three awards every year in support of her causes. But THIS, this was a worse catastrophe than when Anthony mistakenly thought Kate was going into anaphylactic shock and tried undressing her in a public gala because of a bee. (At least of THAT there hadn't been any pictures)

"Kids! No! What, no, put that down Amanda, Oliver! I said no" Phillip kept saying from the next room "We have guests dammit!" 

Eloise evaluated her options, she could go home and face her family including her matchmaking mother and enraged elder brother, and the PR nightmare she just created. Or she could stay in Phillip's house, wait for the story to die down on it's own and do damage control later, like any good Bridgerton.

"Guess I'm staying here then" Eloise decided to herself "Someone has to protect Phillip from what's coming anyway" she shrugged to herself. And she could totally handle his kids. 

It's not like she was going to fall inlove with Mr shy botanical soccer dad anyway, I mean she was Eloise Bridgerton, she usually dated girls and guys who were way, way different than Phillip, so much her exes might as well be in another league. 

She usually went for Independent, career minded, firecrackers who knew what they wanted from life and we're okay with postponing the start of a family. Phillip Crane was nothing like that. 

Which begged to answer why in the world her drunk self had practically proposed on instagram. Sure he was a gentleman and handsome as hell and found her 'endearing' instead of annoying but....Drunk Eloise needed more common sense, that's what she needed. 

Phillip came back into the room looking like he'd just fought world war two with his kids and the kids had won, "Eloise, hey, is something wrong, you look like you just saw a ghost" 

Eloise looked at Phillip, really looked at him in all his tired and exasperated glory, thinking that he looked like the only fun he'd ever been allowed in his life was when Eloise got drunk and made him shoot darts with her until one am.

"Depends" Eloise slid her phone to him with an apologetic smile "can you handle me hiding out here until my family no longer wants to kill me?" 

Phillip lost the smile, seeing her picture "This is bad... really bad...wait did Queen Charlotte comment on this?" Phillip glared at Eloise " how in the world did this go viral?" 

"My family...is sort of famous for making love matches since the times of Queen Elizabeth I" Eloise confessed thinking about her family's lovely generational blessing "The press loves any hint of me or my siblings in a relationship because.."

"The Bridgertons believe in Soulmates" Phillip finished the sentence for her. Aristocrat titles might not mean much anymore in this day and age but there were certain legends that were always fun to perpetuate, the Bridgerton soulmate one being one of them "Even I've heard the stories" 

"It's not like the legend is true, my family is just very lucky in love okay, nothing like what Lady Whistledown makes it look like" Eloise hurried to explain "I'm so sorry Phillip, I didn't mean to make you a viral meme" 

Phillip thought about it for a moment, a long moment, how had he gone from exchanging emails with Eloise to having to hide from her family and the press because of one drunk picture. Ugh he needed to reevaluate his life for what he was considering "Okay"

"Okay, what do you mean okay?" Eloise narrowed her eyes "okay you're crazy or okay I accept your apology?" 

"Okay, you can stay...for two weeks" Phillip wasn't sure if he was making the right decision but he'd just lost a nanny, Oliver and Amanda needed a hobby that didn't involve terrorizing the neighbors, the University was pressuring him for a paper on the new breed of peas he'd grown and he honestly just needed a break, having another adult in his house would at least prevent him from losing his sanity and if that adult was as funny as Eloise... "BUT you have to help me with my kids and believe me they will do everything in their power to drive you away in tears just as they did nanny Hopkins" Obviously, Phillip had never been warned not to challenge a Bridgerton, else he might have gone a different route in his efforts to spooke Eloise "Do you still want to stay?" 

"Yes! But if I manage to make your kids behave before then, I'll have leave to stay indefinitely" Eloise met his challenge head on, who was Phillip to tell her she couldn't do something? She'd cut her teeth on pranksters like Gregory and Hyacinth, she knew how to handle rowdy kids "Deal?" She extended her delicate hand 

"Yes deal"Phillip snorted shaking her hand, Eloise was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met, but she was obviously delusional to think she could stand against the force of nature that were Oliver and Amanda "in two weeks? Really?" Now it was he who was laughing without restraint, and he knew Eloise felt he was mocking her but his children were terrible, he knew what she was up against "I'm sorry! It's just that I haven't laughed that much in ages" 

Nevermind if he looked cute when he laughed, Eloise crossed her arms over her chest "you just wait Phillip Crane, when I'm done here, you won't know what hit you" 

And the thing was, that Philip believed her. She looked like the kind of woman who could change his life if he let her. And even at the wedding, when she'd first accosted him and dragged him to the dance floor, he'd known that stubborn, beautiful, smiling, Eloise Bridgerton was going to be the death of him. 

So let the games begin.


End file.
